Day Sixteen: Treasure

Tuesday, 17 April 2018

My treasure!

A Ball? That's your treasure?

There's a scene in the movie Casper (as in...the friendly ghost) where Casper himself reveals what's inside his coveted treasure chest. As the lid is flipped open, lying on the red velvet lining is a baseball and a glove. Kat is baffled but Casper insists it's his treasure. Not necessarily treasure to anyone else, but his treasure. Like so many things in life, treasure is personal. A seemingly meaningless object can mean the world to someone if the right memory is attached to it.

I wear a very fake looking ring on my left hand. It may be sterling silver but the "diamond" is very clearly glass and I often have people ask me if it's an engagement ring. Whilst I've never been engaged, one of the characters I played was. The ring I had been given at the beginning of my run in The Addams Family very quickly turned copper (and my finger green) and so when in Bath, I nipped out to a local TK Maxx and bought myself a new one. I had to find something that looked like an engagement ring without the price tag of one. When the tour ended, I took it as a keepsake. I did buy it myself, after all! I also kept Wednesday's arrow. Which, close up, is a bit of wood covered in flaky brown paint and brown gaffa tape.

I have a squashed penny collection. A stack of letters. A fluffy cotton ball. In the hands of someone else, none of it means a thing. They'd end up in a boot sale in seconds flat. To me, it's years worth of trips to Walt Disney World in the shape of flattened coins. It's eleven hand written notes from 2009, sent all the way from Hong Kong, from a boyfriend who wrote of a future together that never came to be. A make believe snowball that helped defeat an evil villain. None of it has any monetary value but sentimental value? It all might as well be made of gold.

Like I said, this goes for so many things in life. We're all on different journeys and we can't necessarily judge people for the decisions they make when we just don't know what journey they're on. Focus on your own path. Your own actions and your own morals. Make sure you are kind, considerate and compassionate and you won't go far wrong. Just remember to collect some treasure along the way.

I can't believe my binge-reading of your blog posts is over! I've been a hopeful for a long time and I don't know why I postponed looking at your blog so much (maybe I'm still scared of reading anything more than captions on Instagram posts), but at one point I just told myself I need more Carrie in my life and just went through each post like a hungry child. I'm feeling more inspired than ever to read again (I don't know if as a "bookworm" you've ever reached a reading slump, but I have), and who knows, maybe ever write again!

I love this blog...I too share in your love of pressed pennies and collected quite a few! I have loads of treasures but...where some might say this is a gross treasure ,by far my dad's false teeth are one of my most cherished! I have a part of him I can always keep even though I lost him to cancer when I was 18.Treasures are our memories...collect as many as you can! Much love xx

I remember him chasing my mum around with his false teeth like Butch the dog from Loony Toons!! She used to hate it...it used to make me belly laugh!! Looking at those teeth bring back fond memories...x